Greenberg Cast & Crew Share Their Favorite LA Films

Noah Baumbach’s Greenberg marks the first time that the writer-director has shifted his geographical focus from New York to his adopted home of Los Angeles. In a recent interview, Baumbach said that in Greenberg he was “really dealing with my own feelings about Los Angeles… But I had all those movies in my head. I wanted it to be a movie in that tradition, of 1970s L.A. movies. I felt that those directors really did show L.A. in a way that was so personal and particular and totally unique. The movies, they're all very different.”

So, to mark the release of Greenberg and Los Angeles being the current Movie City on FilmInFocus, we reached out to Baumbach and other members of the Greenberg cast and crew to choose their favorite movies set in Los Angeles. The diverse selections ranged from Singin’ in the Rain, a classic Hollywood movie about the movie business, to Earth Girls Are Easy, a late 80s comedy about valley girls who hook up with aliens, to Los Angeles Plays Itself, a documentary about – wait for it! – movies shot in L.A.

Elizabeth Keenan's Five Favorite Films

1

The Day of the Locust

Homer Simpson and Karen Black?! I love this film because it depicts the boiling point I often reach when driving around LA for 500 miles during one week. That and the bright, sunny retina-melting glare of the LA sun. Dark? Yes. But not as dark or brilliant as Nathanael West.

2

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

Pure vindictive, self-absorbed malice and a bundle on the beach!

3

The Aviator

Art Direction, Set Decoration, Costumes, Cinematography, and Performance as Eye-Crack!

4

The Soloist

I love this film for depicting the underbelly of this city. Cruising through Skid Row at 4 or 5 in the morning on your way to the Flower Mart is a continual reminder of not only the mind-numbing degree at which wealth and massive poverty coexist in LA but what a privilege it is to be in this business...if you can keep your sanity.

5

Chinatown

Elizabeth Keenan is a set decorator whose worked on a number of films including Alice in Wonderland, The Back-Up Plan, and, of course, Greenberg. About living in LA, Ms. Keenan writes, “A newly transplanted Australian friend of mine said, ‘Los Angeles doesn’t GIVE you anything; you must go and search it out.’ Such an astute and world-weary observation. And there is so much treasure to be found once you resign yourself to the hunt.”